Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Was Crystal Harris Wrong For How She Handled Her Breakup From Hugh Hefner?

Crystal Harris made waves when she cancelled her wedding to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner just days before their wedding. People were up in arms about that behavior, but she made it worse by saying negative things about Hef and their intimacy. Was she right to kiss and tell (or lack of) or should she have just stayed quiet?

I genuinely believe that Crystal Harris and Hugh Hefner ending their engagement was a positive thing. Crystal is young, and marrying a man practically four times her age would have been crazy, even though he's got millions of dollars and a mansion.

While Hugh Hefner's friends and family rushed to his side with words of pity and encouragement after his engagement fell through, Crystal Harris seemed to be blamed for the relationship's demise. While it really was her fault (she ran away days before the wedding), she wasn't given enough credit for how she handled the situation.

Per Lifetime's special called "Hef's Runaway Bride," Hef and Crystal discussed their relationship ending before Crystal walked away from his home. Crystal approached Hef about her concerns, and Hef agreed, stating that the marriage was for Crystal, not for him. He later told his ex-girlfriend Holly Madison that he was trying to make up for what he messed up with her, namely, not proposing marriage.

The motive behind even accepting Hef's engagement was questioned when Crystal 'conveniently' left Hef, making major news headlines, right as her single Club Queen dropped. I think that's unfair, because you can genuinely see Crystal's happiness when she accpted Hef's engagement ring. But anyone who watches the Lifetime special about the pair can also see that Crystal wasn't happy long before her single dropped. Also, as Hef's wife, she'd be an employee, essentially. Her role would be to act as Hef's companion, accompany him on media interviews and play the role of a wife while he was still surrounded by hundreds of girls at the Playboy mansion. Basically, her social life, career life and sex life (if her words were true) would be over until Hef passed away and she could move on.

Do I think Crystal made a mistake by openly bashing her sex life (or lack of) with Hef? Absolutely. But do I think she did it from a place of malice? Definitely not.

Think about it this way: if you're in a bad place and constantly being bashed by the media, won't you get upset and lash out? I think that's what Crystal did. She exposed that she and Hef only had sex once and it was only for a very short time. Hef countered by saying that they had sex more than once, which is why he invited Crystal to stay for two night after her initial night. Does this directly contradict Crystal's statement? No. But it does spin it in a very different light. Hef and his camp were obviously upset by Crystal's words because Hef has a reputation for being the king of a sex-related empire, and having bad things said about his performance would potentially be detrimental to the Playboy brand.

Kendra Wilkinson, another ex of Hef's, spoke out against Crystal's words. However, she also got some criticism for her discussion of her life with Hef (parties, do's-and-don'ts in the mansion, etc.) in her book, Sliding Into Home. Kendra, who openly admits that she snuck out of the mansion to meet now husband Hank Baskett, states that Hef understood the situation between the two of them, and the difference between her situation and Crystal's is that Kendra never intended to marry Hef.

Ultimately, Crystal did issue an apology to Hugh Hefner, which is the right thing to do. And do I genuinely think that Crystal's words and actions did any harm to the Playboy brand or Hef himself? No. In fact, he garnered even more publicity from her actions and was able to issue a rebuttal without saying, "Hey, I can still do stuff!" without being provoked. Plus, Crystal knows what she's doing as far as the media goes. While she'll get some grief for her words, being associated with Hef is how she gained her fame, and gaining media coverage from it even after the split is what will keep her in the spotlight.